Physiotherapy device and method for controlling the physiotherapy device

ABSTRACT

A physiotherapy device and a method for controlling the physiotherapy device are provided. The physiotherapy device comprises a vibration capsule. The vibration capsule further comprises a shell, a vibration motor being placed in the shell, a control panel connecting with the vibration motor electrically, and one or more batteries connecting with the vibration motor and the control panel electrically. The vibration motor comprises a rotor closed to an end of the shell and a rotary magnet fixed on the rotor.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201510207015.X filed on Apr. 27, 2015, the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The subject matter herein generally relates to a medical device, and particularly to an ingestible capsule based physiotherapy device and a method for controlling the physiotherapy device.

BACKGROUND

An increasing number of people suffer overweight or constipation. A drug having a cathartic effect is always used for losing weight or avoiding constipation. If a drug is used by a user for a long time, it may lead to a dependency on the drug, and a side effect of dehydration may become an issue for the user. Moreover, a message device in vitro has been developed for losing weight or avoiding constipation. However, the effect of the message device is decreased by internal abdominal fat. Therefore, a physiotherapy device in vivo and a method for controlling the physiotherapy device are needed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention discloses a physiotherapy device. The device comprises a vibration capsule, which further comprises a shell, a vibration motor set in the shell, a control panel connecting to the vibration motor electrically, and one or more batteries connecting with the vibration motor and the control panel electrically. Wherein the vibration motor comprises a rotor closed to one end of the shell and a rotary magnet fixed on the rotor. The rotor is an eccentric rotor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Implementations of the present technology will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the attached figures.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of one example embodiment of a vibration capsule of a physiotherapy device.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the example embodiment of a control circuit of the physiotherapy device.

FIG. 3 is a partial diagram of the example embodiment of the vibration capsule in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a partial diagram of a second example embodiment of the vibration capsule in FIG. 1 for displaying at least two magnet bodies of a rotary magnet in the same direction of poles.

FIG. 5 is a partial diagram of a third example embodiment of the vibration capsule in FIG. 1 for displaying at least two magnet bodies of a rotary magnet in the reverse direction of poles.

FIG. 6 is a partial diagram of a fourth example embodiment of the vibration capsule in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, where appropriate, reference numerals have been repeated among the different figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements. In addition, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments described herein. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments described herein can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, methods, procedures, and components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the related relevant feature being described. The drawings are not necessarily to scale and the proportions of certain parts may be exaggerated to better illustrate details and features. The description is not to be considered as limiting the scope of the embodiments described herein.

Several definitions that apply throughout this disclosure are presented as the follows.

The term “module” refers to logic embodied in computing or firmware, or to a collection of software instructions, written in a programming language, such as, Java, C, or assembly. One or more software instructions in the modules may be embedded in firmware, such as in an erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM). The modules described herein may be implemented as either software and/or computing modules and may be stored in any type of non-transitory computer-readable medium or other storage device. Some non-limiting examples of non-transitory computer-readable media include CDs, DVDs, BLU-RAY, flash memory, and hard disk drives. The term “comprising” means “including, but not necessarily limited to;” it specifically indicates open-ended inclusion or membership in a so-described combination, group, series and the like.

FIGS. 1-2 are a diagram of one example embodiment of a physiotherapy device. The physiotherapy device can comprise a vibration capsule 100 and a magnetic base 300 matching with the vibration capsule 100. In at least one embodiment, the magnetic base 300 can comprise a bottom base (not shown in FIGS. 1-2) for seating the vibration capsule 100, a configuration device of magnetic field (not shown in FIGS. 1-2) for configuring operations of the vibration capsule 100, and a magnetic component (not shown in FIGS. 1-2) for turning on or turning off the vibration capsule 100.

In at least one embodiment, the vibration capsule 100 comprises a shell 1, and the shell 1 comprises a body 12 in hollow cylinder and two hemispheric heads 11 connecting with two ends of the body 12. The shell 1 can be a biocompatibility shell, which can be eaten by users and does not produce ill-effect. The biocompatibility shell also can not be absorbed by the users, and can protect components in the shell 1 from being corroding.

An enclosed space 2 is formed in internal of the body 12 and the two hemispheric heads 11. In at least one embodiment, the enclosed space 2 comprises a vibration motor 22, a control panel 24 connecting with the vibration motor 22 electrically, a seed switch 23 connecting with the vibration motor 22 and the control panel 24 electrically, and one or more batteries 25 connecting with the vibration motor 22 and the control panel 24 electrically. The vibration motor 22, the control panel 24 and the one or more batteries 25 are placed in sequence in the enclosed space 2 along the axial direction of the shell 1.

In at least one embodiment, a fan holder 13 is placed in the body 12. The fan holder 13 can be placed perpendicular to the horizontal axis of the shell 1 and be placed close to a hemispheric head 11. The fan holder 13 also resists interior of the body 12. The fan holder 13 is used to fix the vibration motor 22.

In at least one embodiment, the vibration motor 22 can be a column-shaped motor. One end of the vibration motor 22 goes through the fan holder 13, and the vibration motor 22 is fixed by the fan holder 13. The fan holder 13 can fix the vibration motor 22 and can resist interior of the body 12 to keep the shape of the vibration capsule 100 from being changing. In at least one embodiment, the vibration motor 22 can comprise a rotor 221, and the rotor 221 of the vibration motor 22 can be placed closed to a hemispheric head 11, which is far away from the one or more batteries for improving the effect of vibration. The fan holder 13 is placed closed to the end of the rotor 221 of the vibration motor 22.

The vibration motor 22 connects with the rotor 221 through a connection unit 222. The connection unit 222 can be placed along the axial direction of the shell 1. The vibration motor 22 turns the connection unit 222 to rotate the rotor 221. Wherein the rotor 221 is an eccentric rotor.

In accordance with the aspect of the present invention, the eccentric rotor relies on the rotation of an unbalanced load to create vibration effects. The eccentric rotor comprises a first axis and an eccentric mass center. When vibration motor moves, the vibration force created is proportional to an eccentric distance (the distance between the first axis and a mass center of the eccentric rotor), the mass of eccentric rotor and the square of motor speed.

The eccentric mass center is made of high-density materials having a density at 6-20 g/cm³ and the high density material is also nontoxic. The eccentric mass center can be an alloy or a composite. In one embodiment the high density material is a polymer-metal composite. In accordance with the aspect of the present invention, in one example the density of the high density material is greater than 6-8 g/cm³. In another example the density of the high density material is greater than 8-10 g/cm³. In another example the density of the high density material is greater than 10-12 g/cm³. In another example the density of the high density material is greater than 12-14 g/cm³. In another example the density of the high density material is greater than 14-16 g/cm³. In another example the density of the high density material is greater than 16-18 g/cm³. . In another example the density of the high density material is greater than 18-20 g/cm³.

In at least one embodiment, the vibration motor 22 further comprises a rotary magnet 21. The rotary magnet 21 can be fixed on a surface of the rotor 221, which is far away from the one or more batteries 25, or can be fixed on a lateral surface of the rotor 221. The lateral surface of the rotor 221 is an upper surface or a lower surface of the rotor 221, which is in parallel with the horizontal axis of the vibration capsule 100. The rotary magnet 21 can rotate along with the rotor 221 to form a rotation magnetic field. The range of the magnetic field of the rotary magnet 21 can be set as a value from 0.06 T to 0.5 T.

As illustrations shown in FIGS. 3-5, the rotary magnet 21 comprises at least one magnetic body, and poles of two adjacent magnetic bodies are placed in the same direction or in the reverse direction when the rotary magnet 21 comprises at least two magnetic bodies. As the illustration shown in FIG. 3, the rotary magnet 21 comprises one magnetic body. As the illustration shown in FIG. 4, the rotary magnet 21 comprises at least two magnetic bodies (e.g., a quantity of M, and M is an integer that is not less than 2), and poles of the at least two magnetic bodies are placed in the same direction. As the illustration shown in FIG. 5, the rotary magnet 21 comprises at least two magnetic bodies (e.g., a quantity of N, and N is an integer that is not less than 2), and poles of two adjacent magnetic bodies are placed in the reverse direction. The illustration shown in FIG. 5 can be set as a preferred illustration of the embodiment. When poles of the N magnetic bodies are placed in the reverse direction between two adjacent magnetic bodies, the change frequency of the rotation magnetic field of the rotary magnet 21 is N/2 times of a magnetic body, and the attenuation of the rotation magnetic field of the rotary magnet 21 can be adjusted according to the distances between two adjacent magnetic bodies. The attenuation of the rotation magnetic field of the at least two magnetic bodies is slower than the rotation magnetic field of a magnetic body. The magnetic body can be, but is not limited to, a NdFeB magnet, a ferroferric oxide, or a cobalt-nickel.

As an illustration shown in FIG. 6, the rotor 221 and the rotary magnet 21, are replaced by a magnetic rotor, and the magnetic rotor is placed on the vibration motor 22 to form the rotation magnetic field. The range of the magnetic field of the magnetic rotor also can be set as a value from 0.06 T to 0.5 T.

The rotation magnetic field can produce a magnetic stimulation to digestive tract of users in an impulse type. The rotation magnetic field can stimulate the circulation of blood, adjust blood pressure, develop immunity from disease, and get rid of fatigue. Therefore, the physiotherapy device can achieve a good physiotherapeutic result by placing the rotary magnet 21 on the rotor 221 or using the magnetic rotor to form the rotation magnetic field.

The rotation speed of the rotor 221 can be set as, but is not limited to, a value from 100 revolutions per minute (r/min) to 15000 r/min. The rotation speed of the rotor 221 can be set according to gastrointestinal function of users. Slow rotation speed of the rotor 221 (e.g., less than 2000 r/min) can be set for the user who has a poor gastrointestinal function (e.g., old people or children). Quick rotation speed of the rotor 221 (e.g., larger than 10000 r/min and less than 15000 r/min) can be set for the user who has a good gastrointestinal function. The vibration motor 22 can adjust the rotation speed of the rotor 221 according to the gastrointestinal function of users to achieve resonance for getting a best vibration effect.

As an illustration shown in FIG. 2, the control panel 24 can comprise a microprocessor 241, a magnetic sensor 242 and a current amplification chip 243. The microprocessor 241 is used for programming the working mode of the vibration motor 22. The current amplification chip 243 is used for amplifying current signals of the control panel 24.

As illustrations shown in FIGS. 1-2, the seed switch 23 connecting with the control panel 24 electrically. An end of the seed switch 23 is fixed on the fan holder 13, and another end of the seed switch 23 is fixed on the control panel 24. The seed switch 23 is placed between the vibration motor 22 and the body 12 of the shell 1, and is placed closed to interior of the body 12 for matching with the magnetic component of the magnetic base 300 to turn on or turn off the vibration capsule 100 conveniently. When the magnetic component of the magnetic base 300 is closed to the seed switch 23 in a predetermined range, internal seed of the seed switch 23 is pushed to disconnect circuits of the control panel 24, and the vibration capsule 100 is turned off by the magnetic component of the magnetic base 300. The predetermined range is determined according to the magnetic strength of the magnetic component. When the magnetic component of the magnetic base 300 is away from the seed switch 23 in the predetermined range, the internal seed of the seed switch 23 is pulled to connect circuits of the control panel 24, and the vibration capsule 100 is turned on by the magnetic component of the magnetic base 300. The magnetic force of the magnetic component is larger than the magnetic force of the rotary magnet 21.

In at least one embodiment, two series batteries 25 are placed on the control panel 24, which is away from the vibration motor 22. The two series batteries 25 are used for providing electricity to power the control panel 24 and the vibration motor 22.

The physiotherapy device programs the working mode of the vibration motor 22 by using the microprocessor 241. The working mode of the vibration motor 22 woks as follows.

Step S1, the microprocessor 241 turns on the vibration capsule 100.

Step S2, the microprocessor 241 controls the vibration motor 22 to vibrate between 5 seconds to 15 seconds for testing whether the vibration motor 22 can work normally.

Step S3, the microprocessor 241 controls the vibration motor 22 to enter sleeping mode for a default time. The default time is user-determined or pre-determined by the users, for example, six hours are preferred.

Step S4, the microprocessor 241 controls the vibration motor 22 to vibrate according to the rotation speed of the rotor 221 after the default time.

Step S5, the microprocessor 241 controls the vibration motor 22 to stop working when electricity of the one or more batteries 25 is exhausted.

The working mode of the vibration motor 22 also can be configured by the configuration device of magnetic field of the magnetic base 300 before the vibration motor 22 is turned on. In at least one embodiment, the configuration device of magnetic field configures working mode of the vibration motor 22 from step S2 to step S4 according to working requirements of the vibration motor 22. The magnetic sensor 242 acquires the working mode of the vibration motor 22 from the configuration device of magnetic field and sends the working mode of the vibration motor 22 to the microprocessor 241. The microprocessor 241 controls the vibration motor 22 to vibrate according to the working mode.

When electricity of the one or more batteries 25 is exhausted, the vibration motor 22 stops working and the vibration motor 22 can be excreted from the body of users with stools.

During the manufacturing process of the vibration capsule 100, the vibration motor 22, the seed switch 23, the microprocessor 241, the current amplification chip 243 and the magnetic sensor 242 are welded on a default position of the control panel 24. The vibration motor 22, the microprocessor 241, the current amplification chip 243, the magnetic sensor 242 and the seed switch 23 are connected electrically according to the connections of FIG. 2. The electrical connections are test for determining whether the electrical connections are right. After the electrical connections are right, the working mode of the vibration motor 22 is programmed to the microprocessor 241. After the vibration capsule 100 is packaged, the vibration capsule 100 is placed on the magnetic base 300 to obtain the physiotherapy device.

In the present invention, the physiotherapy device can be used to lose weight or avoid constipation by the vibration of the vibration motor 22. Moreover, the rotation magnetic field can produce magnetic stimulation to digestive tract of users in an impulse type for stimulating the circulation of blood of the users.

The embodiments shown and described above are only examples. Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present technology have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the present disclosure, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in the detail, including in particular the matters of shape, size and arrangement of parts within the principles of the present disclosure, up to and including the full extent established by the broad general meaning of the terms used in the claims. 

1. A physiotherapy device comprising: a vibration capsule; the vibration capsule comprising a shell, a vibration motor set in the shell, a control panel connecting with the vibration motor electrically, and one or more batteries connecting with the vibration motor and the control panel electrically; and the vibration motor comprising a rotor closed to an end of the shell and a rotary magnet fixed on the rotor.
 2. The physiotherapy device according to claim 1, wherein the vibration motor, the control panel and the one or more batteries are placed in sequence along an axial direction of the shell.
 3. The physiotherapy device according to claim 1, wherein the rotary magnet is fixed on a surface of the rotor which is far away from the one or more batteries, or is fixed on a lateral surface of the rotor.
 4. The physiotherapy device according to claim 1, wherein the rotary magnet comprises at least one magnetic body, and poles of two adjacent magnetic bodies are placed in the same direction or in the reverse direction when the rotary magnet comprises at least two magnetic bodies.
 5. The physiotherapy device according to claim 4, wherein the range of the magnetic field of the rotary magnet is set as a value from 0.06 T to 0.5 T.
 6. The physiotherapy device according to claim 4, wherein the magnetic body is a NdFeB magnet, a ferroferric oxide, or a cobalt-nickel.
 7. The physiotherapy device according to claim 1, wherein the rotation speed of the rotor is set as a value from 100 revolutions per minute to 15000 revolutions per minute.
 8. The physiotherapy device according to claim 1, further comprising: a magnetic base matching with the vibration capsule; the vibration capsule comprising a seed switch for matching with the magnetic base to turn on or turn off the vibration capsule; the seed switch connecting with the control panel electrically; and the seed switch fixing between the vibration motor and the shell.
 9. The physiotherapy device according to claim 1, wherein the control panel comprises a microprocessor for programming working mode of the vibration motor, a magnetic sensor, and a current amplification chip.
 10. The physiotherapy device according to claim 1, wherein the shell is a biocompatibility shell.
 11. A physiotherapy device comprising: a vibration capsule; the vibration capsule comprising a shell, a vibration motor set in the shell, a control panel connecting with the vibration motor electrically, and one or more batteries connecting with the vibration motor and the control panel electrically; and the vibration motor comprising a magnetic rotor closed to an end of the shell.
 12. The physiotherapy device according to claim 11, wherein the range of the magnetic field of the magnetic rotor is set as a value from 0.06 T to 0.5 T.
 13. The physiotherapy device according to claim 11, wherein the rotation speed of the magnetic rotor is set as a value from 100 revolutions per minute to 15000 revolutions per minute.
 14. The physiotherapy device according to claim 11, further comprising: a magnetic base matching with the vibration capsule; the vibration capsule comprising a seed switch for matching with the magnetic base to turn on or turn off the vibration capsule; the seed switch connecting with the control panel electrically; and the seed switch fixing between the vibration motor and the shell.
 15. The physiotherapy device according to claim 11, wherein the control panel comprises a microprocessor for programming working mode of the vibration motor, a magnetic sensor, and a current amplification chip.
 16. The physiotherapy device according to claim 11, wherein the shell is a biocompatibility shell.
 17. A method for controlling a physiotherapy device, the method comprising: turning on a vibration capsule of the physiotherapy device; controlling a vibration motor of the vibration capsule to vibrate between 5 seconds to 15 seconds; controlling the vibration motor to enter sleeping mode for a default time; controlling the vibration motor to vibrate after the default time; and controlling the vibration motor to stop working when electricity of one or more batteries of the physiotherapy device is exhausted.
 18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the physiotherapy device further comprises a magnetic base matching with the vibration capsule to turn on or turn off a seed switch of the vibration capsule.
 19. The method according to claim 18, further comprising: configuring working mode of the vibration motor from step S2 to step S4 by using a configuration device of magnetic field of the magnetic base; acquiring the working mode of the vibration motor from the configuration device of magnetic field by using a magnetic sensor of the magnetic base; sending the working mode of the vibration motor to a microprocessor of the magnetic base from the magnetic sensor; and controlling the vibration motor to vibrate according to the working mode by using the microprocessor.
 20. The device of claim 1, wherein the rotor is an eccentric rotor.
 21. The device of claim 20, wherein the eccentric rotor comprises a material having a density greater than 6-20 g/cm³. 